Power Rangers: Forever
by Twilight Destroyer
Summary: The Magna Defender. Of all those summoned to the end of days, he will strike the first blow. And the enemy will counter with a griffin, a scorpion, and a prince. In the quest for revenge, who will be left standing? Who will be left, period?
1. The Final Countdown

_**Forever**_

Author's Note: After seventeen seasons, Power Rangers is ending.

Unless it hasn't. In which case, remember that it looked liked it was going to.

And really, didn't it deserve better, no matter what happened? It might not be the Sopranos, or The Wire, or Battlestar Galactica, or heck, even Justice League, and maybe far too many of us are way out of the target audience, and yeah, maybe it's always been about selling toys…but for all that, no one reading this story won't have anything but fond memories whenever they heard the trademark power rock tune. And quite frankly, considering the show fought through a terrible budget, less than optimal scripting and casting, a switchover to a company that was embarrassed by it, and whatever else comes to mind (I'm sure some people want to mention someone whose name rhymes with "Spruce Spalash"), to make it this far AND end(?) on as fine a note as RPM, is something.

But it deserved better. It deserved something that couldn't be hampered by budget issues, actors embarrassed or tired of this part of their lives, the ability to keep accents, or a company that doesn't know something good when they have it. And when it ends once and for all (if it does), it won't get the wrap-up it would have in a perfect world.

So I'm going to try and do something about it, before my initiative dies and this is abandoned like my other ideas. I won't hold this story hostage for reviews like some, or many idiots would, but I won't lie by saying they might help. Might.

Some might say this is like a certain video game. I say maybe, but maybe not. Some might say this idea is being told by other people as well. I say maybe, but maybe not. And maybe this isn't how RPM is going to end, but for the purpose of this final story, surely you'll allow me that one theory.

Maybe it's all ended. But in its own ways, the power will live forever.

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Prelude: The Final Countdown

_Do you know what it__'s like to have an idea, and just be carried away by it? To be borne along by its energy, until you could swear it has a life of its own and it's just using you to craft it? To sometimes feel afraid, because you realize that part of you can't really grasp what you're making and exactly how it will work, until the energy finally settles down and aligns your synapses just right?_

_Maybe it's not for everyone, but for me, it was one of the two great blessings of my life. My mind, and all I crafted from it. It served me well for my other blessing._

_My name is William Cranston, though I prefer Billy. Once upon a time, I was a Power Ranger._

_My time as a Ranger…it was so many things. I learned and did so much, good and bad. I worked on devices and machines and theories beyond anything 'normal science' could have dreamed. I made friends, loyal allies, and found loved ones, all as close as family, if not closer. Even when I had to put the morpher down and stand on the sidelines, I had no regrets._

_Being a Power Ranger made everything worth it._

_It's over now. It has been for a while. But the legacy of what I helped create lives on. There were other Rangers. There would have been more, stretching perhaps to the end of time. Heck, even Tommy ended up joining another team several years down the line. I both admire and envy him that._

_My life was quiet, on Aquitar, with Cestrisa and our family. _

_It was._

_It's gone now._

_I might never get it back._

_We were the Power Rangers. We could do anything._

…_We did too much._

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_**Somewhere. Nowhere.**_

So close.

He'd been so close.

Of all the beings that had come before him, creatures that had crushed galaxies in their cruel grip or crossed over from other dimensions like something out of the author Lovecraft's fever dreams, he'd gone further than any of them. From humble beginnings, he'd reduced the planet Earth to a wasteland.

Only one city had been left.

And then, they had come.

The Rangers. Like they had so many times before.

He hadn't thought it would matter. Like all the rest.

They'd proven him wrong. He'd thrown everything he had a them, gradually at first, and eventually without mercy. They rose to each assault, each attempt to snuff them out, and beat it back. Just like their predecessors.

Then they'd gone even further.

And so Venjix, once the supposed lord and master of the planet Earth, now found himself in a vortex of swirling chronological energies, a shifting void beyond time and space. He'd crossed dimensions to have one final battle with his mortal enemies, and to stop them from snatching a victory from the jaws Venjix had seized the world in, a victory so terrible it even made Venjix's electronic soul feel fear.

She was trying to alter time. Undo what she'd done. Take everything he accomplished and reduce it to nothing.

In reality, this was a plan of incalculable danger. Attempting to forcibly alter the natural forces of the universe was something that would have given even Venjix pause.

Humans. They were so…irritating in not knowing their limits.

Despite all the efforts Venjix had made to remind them.

"So…had enough?" Ziggy wheezed, only his battered axe keeping him from collapsing in a heap. The other Rangers let Ziggy speak for them, their own armaments and uniforms scarred and damaged from the intense battle they'd waged. Venjix, however, bore his own scars, and that fact sent the closest thing to rage crackling through his mechanical body. It was impossible. This area of malleable time, the Vortex for lack of a better term, was about as hostile to organic life as you could get without going into hard vacuum. That fact alone should have doomed the Rangers. It had not. Neither had the furious assault he'd unleashed on them with the finest weapon of destruction he'd ever crafted: his current form. The Rangers kept fighting, protecting Dr. K, as she floated on a mechanical platform and furiously ran between the several computers set up upon it, her personal shield shimmering over her body as she did so.

"You will be the one whose limits are reached, Rangers!" Venjix retorted, as he drew his weapon up once more and charged.

The RPM Rangers met him. Blades clashed. Sparks flew. Explosions blasted across the strange semi-matter that the battle took place on, sometimes leaving a mark and sometimes vanishing into the ether.

Dr. K tried to block it all out, to go into the cold grip of the idea, to focus on the far more important things then the lives of a few people, especially now…but she couldn't. For all her efforts to deny it, deep down, between the people who did battle to protect her and allow her her final gamble, and the world, if she had to chose one…

…The world might not be enough.

She had to save it. She had to save them. She had to…

Watch, despite her.

And watch she did, as Venjix mustered and unleashed a devastating attack, only for the Rangers to fuse their personal arms and return fire. The shock wave of the blast nearly knocked Dr. K to her knees.

She should have gotten back to work. She was so close…and so was Venjix.

Instead, she waited, looking on the scene with wide eyes.

They were alive. Down, hurt, but alive.

However, so was Venjix.

"MAKER!" the robot bellowed, standing up. Dr. K found herself watching again, despite it all.

"…Do your Rangers not realize…what forces you are tampering with?" the malevolent AI hissed, his voice box damaged and expressing an odd crackle every several words. "This is not like…building a robotic mechanism! To attempt to forcibly alter time, PROPERLY, requires calculations even I would find daunting! Do it wrong…you risk erasing yourself, your world, perhaps your entire plane of existence! Do you really think…that THIS, and all it potentially entails…is the right thing to do? Do you honestly think it will WORK?"

Dr. K looked at her deepest regret, and tried to find an answer.

She didn't have to.

"Oh SHUT YOUR TRAP!" Flynn yelled, standing up. "Now you're gonna bust out logic on us? Keep dreaming!"

"If anyone can make this better, Dr. K can! Dr. K WILL! Besides, we're the good guys. We ALWAYS win!" Ziggy said.

"You can't even begin to understand what she can and can't do," Summer said.

"Yeah! Dr. K…!"

"Is the smartest…!"

"We should know…!"

"And you don't!"

"Stupid!" Gem and Gemma added in their unique back and forth way.

"Are you so willing to stake your lives on it?" Venjix said.

"…Of course," Dillon said, like he was talking to a child.

"We know what it's like to live," Scott finished, as he gestured with his sword. "You don't even know where to start."

"I know this: this is YOUR END!" Venjix bellowed, and charged again. Once more, the Rangers charged in turn.

"GO DR. K! DO IT! WE'LL FIGHT!" Scott yelled. Dr. K stared for a moment, and then surged back up to her feet, stumbling over and rapidly typing at the computer before her while sounds of explosions, anger, and determination rang in her ears. She couldn't look any more. She had to do this…

So close…

…She really wanted a Twizzler right about then. When this was done, it was going on the top of…

Done. It was done. She'd properly aligned and calculated everything. Now for the catalyst. The universal language.

For a moment, as she crossed to the center of her platform and picked it up, the violin seemed to carry the weight of the world.

It did not stop her, as she propped it, placed her bow across the strings, and began to play.

The computers lit up around her, as Dr. K, using her instrument, began sending precise waves of quantum-based energy out across the Vortex, trying to reach across the threads of history and change the weave. To bring a dead world back to life.

And bring her and those who would sacrifice everything back to it.

She played like her life depended on it, and it did. She played despite the shifting, alien energies clawing at her mind, threatening her concentration and coordination. She played because she missed having good frozen yogurt. She played because, in a tiny part of her brain, she'd always wanted to hear the music of the spheres.

She played, reaching the crescendo…

A cold hand seized her wrist. The music stopped.

"Enough, Maker." Venjix managed to say despite half his face missing. Dr. K stared into his heartless gaze, seeing her hopes and dreams die in it. "You did well. Much better than I could calculate. But all good things must come to an end."

Dr. K had no words.

Dillon's actions spoke for him, as he rammed the broken Street Saber through Venjix's back.

"SO DO BAD THINGS!" Dillon yelled, as he smashed the agonizing Venjix away.

"DR. K!" Ziggy yelled from where he lay, unable to get up. Even Venjix, however, couldn't beat him enough to make him shut up. "DO IT! DO IT! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"

Dr. K did not watch: she listened, as she raised the violin and began the last process, seizing the energy manipulation back and driving it forward to the climax.

"NO!" Venjix roared, raising a hand and trying to blast Dr. K. He got two Cloud Hatchets in the neck before he could, the blades snapping off as a yellow energy blast drove him backwards.

A hand seized his jaw, tearing it open as Scott reached behind Venjix, ripped the Engine Cell from his blade, and crammed it into Venjix's mouth.

"That's for Marcus, ASSHOLE."

Venjix's skull exploded as he fell to one knee. So close…so close…

But the music was playing him off.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

The manipulated chrono-energies consumed him, tearing his body apart and consigning it to oblivion, white devouring his form and all the Rangers beside him.

Dr. K played on, even as she vanished in the radiance.

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And found herself playing on a mountaintop. The music ground to a halt as she stopped in shock.

"…wow, Heaven looks a lot like Mt. Aster," a familiar Scottish accent said, as Dr. K turned around.

The RPM Rangers stood nearby, out of costume, and looking as stunned as she felt.

The sun was shining.

The sun was actually out, instead of covered in toxic clouds. Clouds that had always been overlooking a dead wasteland that was no longer there.

The world stretched out before the horizon before her.

"…We won." Ziggy said, speaking the words like he couldn't believe it.

There was a moment of silence.

"WE WON! WE SAVED THE WORLD!" Ziggy cried with far greater credence and joy, as he jumped into Dillon's arms. Dillon, still in the middle of being surprised, was nearly knocked over in the process.

The Rangers whooped, cheered, and celebrated, and for a moment Dr. K turned away, closed her eyes, and let out a long slow breath. She'd…no, they'd done it. They HAD saved the world, in the greatest way possible.

Who would have thought it?

There were other problems though. She'd have to figure out the exact nature of the chronological shift, and how she and her Rangers played into it. She might have inadvertently copied them onto a world where alternate versions of themselves existed, and if…

That was all the thought Dr. K got to do, as Gem and Gemma enveloped her in a joyful hug, and she realized that maybe, just maybe, thought could wait for now.

At least until Ziggy hugged her.

"YOU DID IT! YOU DIDITDOCTORK I KNEW…!" Ziggy said, actually picking Doctor K up off the ground.

"Ranger Series Green, I would highly suggest you lessen my elevation lest you cause strain and possible damage to your lumbar vertebrae," Dr. K said.

"Aw man, back on THIS again? Can't you ever cut me a break Dr. K?" Ziggy complained.

"Perhaps if you 'cut it out', Ranger Series Green," Dr. K said. Ziggy opened his mouth to protest again, only to find Dr. K's finger on it. "Though I will confess…I wouldn't have you any other way."

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_**The Hall Of Legends.**_

He'd seen many celebrations. It didn't make them any less satisfying.

"Another story with a happy ending," the Omega Ranger said, as he watched the RPM Rangers exalt over the miracle they'd accomplished. He'd have to send down a Grid Aspect for the RPM Rangers to record their memories in soon. No rush: there would be some time before the next team of Rangers rose to prominence, and…

…Wait.

The Omega Ranger's apparatus showed far more than any viewing technology…and he had picked up something else.

Something…off.

"…What is…?"

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_**The 31**__**st**__** Century.**_

"Problem, Cadet?"

The Time Force rookie jerked in his seat in surprise, before turning around and looking at the stern face of his commanding officer.

"Um, uh, no, Lieutenant Scotts. I was just looking at this…well I'm not sure if it's an anomaly, I'm not getting any readings…" Private Twinen said, looking back and forth between Jen Scotts and the computer screen he'd been staring at intently for some time now.

Jen chuckled inwardly to herself: the rookies were always so tense when she came around. Her reputation preceded her, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Yes rookie, we know. We've seen that 'anomaly' before," Jen said, leaning over and looking at the screen. "We can't figure out what it is either. It's some odd knot in the fabric of time, hanging around in the first half of the third millennium. I think it's been there since Time Force started. Nothing's ever come of it."

"It's not dangerous?"

"We've sent probes there, several times. They never found anything. Believe me, we've looked," Jen said. "Good for noticing it, but it's time to get back to work."

"…all right. If you say so, lieutenant." Private Twinen said, as Jen began heading back out of the monitoring station. If all she had to do was set a rookie straight, today would be a fine day.

Dull, but fine.

"…But I could have sworn…That didn't…" Private Twinen said. He assumed his superior officer knew what she was talking about, having prevented a great deal of chronological damage personally…but the energies readings that had briefly flickered across his screen…

…Was that really harmless?

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Time. When outside forces tried to tamper with it, strange things could occur. What would seem to be a natural order became tangled and confused, and what you would expect to have happened at one point, happened at another.

Unfortunately, some things _will _happen, and the precise time they occur means nothing.

Private Twinen HAD seen something off, in the time anomaly. He would never realize it was a reboot point of history, triggered by the RPM Ranger's actions, and that Time Force had never read anything strange from it because they'd instantly changed as it had.

Twinen never saw more then the slightest hint of what that reboot had done.

The Omega Ranger did, and as he realized just what it meant, the horror of it struck him to the core.

"No…!"

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_The rough idea for what I created over the years came to me in a dream. In the dream, Rito went back in time and caused some severe inconveniences in the past, and the end result was that I turned into a goat._

_Yes, dreams are quite idiosyncratic. The thought still occurred to me that while overt time travel might be preventable, a more subtle hand at work could cause potential catastrophe. For optimum safety, there should be an option._

_That's how the machine started as. But as said, sometimes the idea goes farther and faster then you'd ever imagine._

_It had been finished for about seven months : the remaining tasks were safety redundancies and the like. As for what it did…_

_I couldn't say. It had originated as an idea to protect against hostile time travel, but now…_

_Part of it was based on the instant transport technology Zordon developed to get us around. Another part dealt with the quantum physics of essentially manifesting something from nothing. Another part dealt with string theory, another part utilized math I had to invent as I went along…You can see why I say the idea sometimes has a life of it's own. In a strange way, I wasn't building the machine myself. The idea was._

_The official name was the Empyrean Trigger. Mostly, I called it a name from some old comic books of mine, the Miracle Machine. Mostly because if I ever figured out precisely what it was supposed to do when it was turned on, it would be a miracle._

_I've seen miracles happen._

_I've also seen the exact opposite._

_Even I never thought I'd see what happened that day._

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_**Somewhere, on the far edges of the universe.**_

Its official designation was TR-939495, a normal B-class star. Eventually, the process that had created it would cause it to explode into a supernova and then collapse.

That day was not supposed to have been today.

Things had changed.

The white mass of the super giant flared and abruptly exploded outward, an eruption of incalculable destructive energies. Supergiants did not lend themselves well to life, and hence the planets TR-939495 consumed and reduced to blackened cinders had no life on them. It did not make their destruction any less tragic, OR terrifying, as a portal opened in space and the Omega Ranger flew out on his personal transport platform.

He immediately felt the immense energies begin to hammer against his suit's protections, but he barely noticed. The supergiant had already reached its peak, and was beginning to contract into a black hole. The explosion of its death had been so quick there was still a massive amount of debris remaining of the destroyed planets: a normal supernova would have burned them to nothing.

This was _not _normal. The Omega Ranger was not an astrophysics expert, but he knew a star going supernova and collapsing took weeks, days, hours at the quickest. This was happening in MINUTES; the many villains the Rangers had faced would have been incapable of warping physics on the scale and speed this was happening, even the titans like Lord Zedd or Dark Specter.

This was something else. Something that had only existed in the worst doomsday calculations rangers had made throughout the years, events with odds in the same range of water spontaneously transforming into lead without outside interference. A thousand teams of rangers could supposedly come and go, and nothing like this would have happened.

The Rangers had been wrong. Their error, understandable as it was, may have just doomed them all.

If the Omega Ranger didn't have anything to say about it.

Tracking it wasn't difficult: even amongst the fierce storm of the star's death the unnatural read stood out. Getting there proved more hazardous, as the Omega Ranger flew through spinning asteroids and meteors, drawing closer to the emerging black hole. Several pieces of rubble had crashed together from the gravitational forces pulling on them, forming a chaotic patchwork planetoid that the Omega Ranger landed on.

The hand exploded from beneath the ground.

The Omega Ranger watched, speechless, as the form emerged, power crackling on its body. This was what had caused the impossible destruction.

Merely so it could be born.

"…Stop," the Omega Ranger said. Technically, nothing normal could have heard him: sound didn't carry in the vacuum of space.

The form did. Somehow, the Omega Ranger knew it would, as its body solidified. In a flash of light, cloaks draped themselves over it.

"It doesn't have to be this way!" the Omega Ranger said.

The form merely looked at the Omega Ranger, who drew his sword. He knew what he was facing. It would not slow him.

"I WON'T LET IT BE THIS WAY!"

The form did not make a single motion as the Omega Ranger charged, his sword exploding with radiant energy.

Not until the Omega Ranger swung.

He never saw it coming.

A moment later, the Omega Ranger crashed down to the ground a dozen feet away, his sword broken in half. He tried to rise up, and found his suit wouldn't listen to him. It was completely shut down.

The form lowered the hand it had struck with, even as it rose up and floated towards the Omega Ranger. The caretaker tried to fight to his feet as the shadow fell over him.

"Your way…"

The Omega Ranger heard the voice in his mind rather than his ears. The sound of the end.

"Is why I am."

The hand came down.

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_**The 31**__**st**__** Century.**_

It hadn't been a quiet day after all. To Jen's annoyance, the interruption came from a familiar source

"Lieutenant Scotts…"

"Yes, Private? Something else catch your eye about the tangle?"

"Uh no miss…I think we have a jump."

"What? Let me see," Jen said, as she looked over the cadet's shoulder while he called up his computer readings. She stared at them for several seconds, before pressing a few keys and studying the new information that came up.

"…Must be a computer error. Try and locate it cadet."

"What, miss?"

"It's a computer error."

"How do you know?" Private Twinen said. Jen sighed to herself: the fresh faces were always so eager.

"Cadet, the trace is far too faint for it to be a jump."

"Well yes but…can't people hide it or…"

"Cadet, do you know what time travel is like? You're forcibly plucking yourself out of your proper place in the timestream and forcing yourself down into a new area. It's not exactly natural, and it leaves a mark, no matter how advanced the timestream tech becomes or how hard you try to hide it." Jen said. "A trace that faint isn't possible: the science behind it essentially says you exist simultaneously at every part of the universe at the same time."

"…Oh." Private Twinen said.

"Where did it start and end anyway?"

"Uh…couldn't pinpoint the precise starting point. But it ended…"

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_**In the closing shadows of the second millennium.**_

It was an average day…for someone, she was sure. As it was for _her,_ between the earthquake and the storm and the umbrella, Kimberly Ann Hart wasn't having a very average day.

Sighing in annoyance, Kimberly threw the ruined and useless umbrella in the trash bin, her clothes soaked and her hair an utter mess. She heard her shoes squish as she moved and made a face over the fact, wondering if her dad ever had days like this.

"Wish I could see him more often…" Kimberly thought out loud as she entered the combination to her locker. "Oh well, can't get much worse…"

She caught sight of him in her locker mirror a moment before he spoke.

"Kimberly?"

_Oh no, Tommy._ Kimberly thought, screaming in her head over her bedraggled state for a second before she turned to face him.

"Tommy!"

"Little wet out there?" Tommy Oliver said, grinning.

"A LITTLE wet?! I'm a total wreck! Can you believe that I have to show Mr. Caplin my Pep Rally plans in ten min…utes-OH NO!" Kimberly sighed, looking at her battered papers. "It looks like something I drew when I was three!"

There was a pause.

Inside her mind, Kimberly felt a sudden bloom of confusion. She blinked as Tommy looked at her.

What was that?

"…I'm sure it'll be fine, Kim," Tommy said reassuringly.

Kimberly blinked. The feeling didn't go away. Something felt…off.

Well, if there was an attack, Zordon would surely get in touch with her. It was pretty much impossible to catch him off guard for long. Shrugging, she turned and closed her locker.

"Yeah…maybe…" Kimberly said. Apparently she didn't sound all that convincing, as Tommy put a hand on her shoulder, misreading her mild disorientation as concern over her float.

"Hey. Maybe I could walk you home after school."

Kimberly stood another moment, before tucking some hair behind her ear. It was probably nothing. Life had had more general strangeness for her since she'd become a Power Ranger.

"Well, you know, anything could happen…"

"I'll take my chances," Tommy replied.

Kimberly toyed with her hair some more.

"…Okay."

The ringing bell interrupted the moment.

"Bye!" Kimberly said, turning around, closing her locker, and heading off. She vaguely heard Tommy reply with his own farewell as he hurried off to class.

The rest of the school day didn't go by fast enough for Kimberly, who had been growing closer to her fellow Ranger over the last few weeks since he had joined them.

It was almost enough to drown out the feeling of apprehension in the back of her mind.

Until she _was_ walking home with Tommy, and she realized it hadn't gone away.

In fact, if one had asked her about her day, leading up to Tommy and her walking through the park, she would have realized that she couldn't recall any of it.

"It all started…" Kimberly said as she and Tommy walked down the hiking trail. "…last night. I had this dream where Rita was my stepmother!"

"Ooh, creepy!"

"Totally! And ever since then, my day has been one huge nightmare!"

"Really? Like what?" Tommy said as the pair walked past a bench.

"Well I…and there…" Kimberly said, trailing off. Tommy immediately noticed the silence. He also noticed what lay behind it.

"What's wrong?"

"…Tommy…have you felt…odd today?"

"Odd? Uh…" Tommy said, as he briefly studied the clouds. "Like what?"

"It's really weird. It's like…today isn't going like it should, ya'know?"

Tommy looked at her strangely.

"Well I ju-EEP!" Kimberly said as she suddenly tripped over a pebble.

Tommy beat her gymnastics training to the punch, as he surged down and grabbed her.

"…Always there to save me," Kimberly muttered. Tommy grinned absently.

"That's…me…" Tommy said. "…Kim…about…the…"

Kimberly leaned forward a bit, her hand touching his shoulder before gripping it. Maybe…

Tommy snapped his head away from her, and she felt every muscle in his body go tense.

Something was wrong.

Tommy Oliver had realized it a few seconds after he'd caught Kimberly. He'd realized, as she spoke, how quiet it was.

Far, FAR too quiet. It was like all the background noise in the world had been cut off. Even the wind that had begun to blow made no sound.

Tommy saw the figure a few seconds later. Kimberly followed his gaze.

Her vision briefly lost focus, as she shook her head and looked once more, vaguely aware that Tommy had fallen into the combat stance he'd trained to perfection.

It wasn't a monster, at least in terms of what Kimberly had seen. The figure that slowly walked towards them seemed as human as them, dressed in a simple blue robe…

Wait…hadn't it been yellow before?

Kimberly's vision blurred again, a scratch of discomfort running across her brain. She was vaguely aware of Tommy making a small noise of malaise himself. She tried to look once more, only to get more of the same discomfort…

The figure wore red robes now. He carried a simple red staff. His face was covered by a simple, featureless red mask-green mask.

His whole outfit had shifted color.

The discomfort grew greater. After a moment, Kimberly realized why.

It literally hurt to look at him.

"Who are you?" Tommy said: if he was suffering the same discomfort Kimberly was, as it seemed, it didn't take the fierceness out of his voice…

It was then Kimberly saw it, as the figure slowly approached.

The grass was dying around him, instantly turning brown and then black with every step he took. He was leaving a scar of dead dust behind him.

"Thomas Oliver…"

The figure's voice, strangely, didn't hurt. What it did was alter in pitch and inflection for every single syllable it spoke. It would have been comical if the figure's presence had been anything but.

"…what…are…" Kimberly tried to get out.

"The balance," The figure said, as he continued his slow advance. "The balance must be struck once more."

"WHAT balance? What are you talking about?" Tommy said, his tension even greater than before. The figure had no reply.

A leaf, floating on the wind, brushed against it. A second later said leaf exploded into dust. A second later another spike of pain buried itself in Kimberly's head, causing her to stumble back a step.

This was not how it should be going. Zordon should have contacted them. They should have contacted the others. They should have fought, where were the Putties, this was all WRONG, why couldn't she THINK…

"Kimberly, go."

"…What?" Kimberly said.

"GO! TELEPORT!" Tommy yelled, putting himself between Kimberly and the approaching figure.

"Tommy we…"

"Get out of here. Tell Zordon! Hurry!" Tommy yelled, as he reached for his morpher. If he had to, he'd fight entirely at distance to…

The figure was no longer approaching. It was right in front of him.

Seizing his wrist.

Tommy instantly felt his whole arm go dead, like a puppet limb whose strings had been cut. It wasn't painful, in fact it wasn't anything.

It only made it worse.

"TOMMY!" Tommy heard Kimberly scream behind him. She'd been as blind to Tommy of the figure's movement: one moment he was closing in, and the next he was there. Stopping Tommy with a mere grip.

"This is unfortunate, I suppose," the figure said. "Fortuity, however, no longer matters."

"…you…you…" Tommy said.

Kimberly attacked as best she could, as she jerked around Tommy and lashed out with her foot, her brain telling her the few seconds it would take her to morph would take away any chance she had…

The figure looked at her.

Kimberly felt the terrible cold impact slam into her, and as her feet left the ground, she realized no matter what she would have done, she would have had no chance.

"Tommy…"

The cold consumed her, and as Tommy watched in wide-eyed terror, Kimberly Hart shattered like a snowflake, her body exploding into gray dust.

The worst part was not the rage and sorrow that blasted through Tommy Oliver's body as he watched Kimberly be blasted to atoms.

The worst part was a second later it was gone, along with all his strength. He fell to his knees.

The figure still held his wrist. The figure…was taking it. All of it.

Tommy, for all his power, could barely lift his head to look.

"Balance," the figure said. "That is all."

And with another blast of silent wind, Tommy Oliver joined Kimberly in oblivion.

The figure lowered its hand, looking down at what it had wrought.

"Whatever it takes."

The wind began to howl like an agonized beast.

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_They say nature abhors a vacuum._

_They have no idea._

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Dr. K felt it before she heard it, a low buzzing in her teeth. The sounds of her triumphant Rangers abruptly faded away, as her whole consciousness realized what she was feeling.

What it meant.

"…No," Dr. K said in quiet, utter horror.

A moment later, the mountain began to shake. The RPM Rangers stopped celebrating.

"What's going on?" Scott said.

"No, no, NO!"

The mountain suddenly lurched like it had been struck by a giant hand, throwing the Rangers and Dr. K to the ground. In her peripheral vision, Dr. K saw the distant horizon buckle and crack open, the pleasant plains and forest collapsing into the shattering continental shelf.

Dr. K could hear her Rangers yelling, and possibly the faint sound of a transformation, but it all seemed very far away. She had been wrong. She hadn't manipulated the time stream correctly. Now the backlash of her actions was coming to bear, as the greater forces of the universe recoiled and destroyed anything in their path.

She'd destroyed the world. Again.

This time, it was all her fault…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. K was not the only witness to doomsday, as Leo Corbett stared into the sky. Looking at the massive meteor as it came down towards them. Out of nowhere. Too late to stop.

Just like that, Terra Venture would die.

He wanted to save his people. He wanted to stop it.

He knew he couldn't.

All he could do was fall on his knees and scream.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dustin Brooks had no words as he pulled himself up from where he had fallen, barely aware of the dirt in his mouth. All he could see was the gigantic tidal wave filling the horizon, coming to wipe Blue Bay Harbor off the face of the Earth. What had happened? He'd just been biking, like any normal day…and then…no warning, no indication, no grand gesture or proclamation.

Suddenly, the whole world was falling down around his ears.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world was screaming.

No, it was worse. Life itself was screaming. Something terrible was happening on the highest planes, and its cost was soul-crushing, as Princess Shayla stumbled from the heart of Animaria, looking in shocked terror at the crashing storm clouds above. She had to get the Rangers organized, this was..

Too late, far too late, as the king of all lightning bolts exploded from the seething black above, blowing a gigantic hole through the heart of Animaria and sending it falling to the Earth below.

The screams were no longer in Shayla's head: her voice had joined them.

Down below on terra firma, Cole Evans could only watch as everything he had fought to protect went crashing down.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The exploding computers hurled Jen into a wall, her shoulder wrenching painfully as she hit the floor. What on earth had just happened? What in all of TIME HAD JUST HAPPENED?!

"I DON'T THINK THIS IS AN ERROR MISS-ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!" Private Twinen screamed as the wall suddenly collapsed on him. Terrible winds crashed through the Time Force headquarters, a hurricane from nowhere ripping the whole place apart.

Jen had seen it, the biggest time spike she'd ever witnessed. Someone had changed the past. Someone had changed the past without leaving the slightest indication that it was happening, and had changed something so big the whole universe was quaking over it: up and down the timeline disasters literally came out of thin air, further exacerbating the damage to the time stream. Even Frax's actions hadn't come close to the sheer destruction this change had caused.

It shouldn't have been this way. Timeline damage was, by it's nature, rippling and possible to contain before it reached this level. Jen had barely had time to recover seeing the chrono-spike and ordering a Code Black before the damage crashed into the future.

Too fast. Too much.

Something big had just emerged from the ether.

So big she'd could barely comprehend just what.

"…Wes," Jen whispered: the last thing she wanted to do in her final moments was agonize over just how big the force behind this had to be. Just why it had brought its crushing hand down on them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Across the cosmos, a silver protector fought to help his people escape from a sudden magnetic pole shift…

In a crumbling base, a canine leader tried to issue orders while his mind raged at the fact a volcano had suddenly exploded through the streets of his city…

A firestorm claimed a forest that no longer offered any protection…

A brave leader found his courage was nothing in the face of a cracking, imploding underwater base…

A punishing rain of hammering ice smashed through a mountain as an electronic heart surged with unnatural fear…

A mind wondered if his insurance would go up as ruptured gas mains exploded across the streets of his city on route to his restaurant…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And on Aquitar, a voice screamed in Billy Cranston's head.

"_**BILLY WAKE UP!"**_

Billy did more than that: he nearly fell out of the small cot he had dozed off on. Another long night pondering his…

"_**BILLY, THE MACHINE! YOUR MACHINE! TURN IT ON!"**_

"What, who…why did…"

"_**NO TIME! ACTIVATE THE TRIGGER!"**_

Normally, Billy would have done the exact opposite of a strange voice suddenly yelling in his mind…except it wasn't yelling. It was…pleading, a soft, quiet if fierce desperation that Billy realized no villain he'd fought could convincingly fake.

"Who are…"

The jolt threw him violently to the ground, various random objects around his 'nap-room' promptly joining him on the floor. The jolt was followed by an even stronger one, like Aquitar was suffering an earthquake.

Except Billy knew the design of the planet's tectonic plates. Aquitar COULDN'T suffer earthquakes.

"_**HURRY!!"**_

Billy forced himself up and slammed the doorpad button: the door only made it halfway before it jammed in a shower of sparks. Billy said a word a lot of his friends would be surprised he knew and squeezed himself through the door: just how bad the situation was was now fully hitting him. If the planet was being affected on a level that it was activating such intense tremors in such a stable setup, the entire Aquitarian civilization could collapse. The death toll would be appalling.

"Cestria…" Billy said, briefly frozen in the hallway at the thought. She was close, he could…

"_**NO TIME!"**_

"But I can't…" Billy said, turning down the hallway…as the ceiling collapsed, blocking it off before Billy could go down it.

"_**Billy, listen to me. The only way to save them, and yourself, is your machine! This is why I had you build it! IT'S NEEDED! NOW! HURRY!!!!!!"**_

Part of Billy didn't want to listen: it wanted to fight through the wreckage and save what mattered most. The larger part however, knew that he couldn't. He'd been taught to see the bigger picture. His mentor, Zordon, had died for the sake of the bigger picture.

If he had to, he would as well.

His workshop wasn't far.

He also didn't have much time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe less than even he realized, as the figure stood among the blowing leaves in the forest where he had set all this in motion.

He could feel it, the incredible shift across time. The damage was horrendous…but that was the cost. The Rangers had brought this on themselves, and ignorance was not a strong enough excuse to stay his hand.

Whether what he had wrought would be enough was yet to be seen. The timeline was in chaos, and exactly how much of the damage would be reversed when it stabilized, even he couldn't tell. Once it had settled, he would assess things and, if needed, make further changes. The rest was…

…Wait.

He could sense it. It had tried to hide itself amongst what he had done, but it had not succeeded.

A counter-measure.

"…So, you _are _going to raise an opposition. And you can, hmmm." The figure said. "I'm not really surprised."

The figure raised his staff.

"It won't matter."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The workshop door surprisingly didn't jam. Instead, Billy tripped over a bench that had been thrown across the room, banging his knees and shin. He ignored the pain, scrambling up and quickly flipping the several switches on various parts of the mechanism.

"Wait, YOU inspired this?" Billy said out loud.

"_**Yes! Hurry!"**_

"What is it going to DO?" Billy said, as he opened a safe with a handprint and withdrew a modified Aquitar-Morpher, which he inserted into part of the room-filling mechanism to serve as a key.

"_**Save us all. Save everything."**_

"Who's doing this? Zedd? Specter? Some new villain I never heard of?"

"_**No…it's…it's…oh no."**_

The force shockwave blew Billy across the room. He crashed into a length of computers that ran part of his device and bounced off, sparks shooting off the wall and burning the back of his neck.

He was no longer alone.

"Do not interfere," The figure said. Billy looked at the figure, his shifting colors and voice, before the same spike of pain that Tommy and Kimberly had suffered drilled into his head.

It didn't prevent him from standing up, taking two steps to the left, and opening a concealed panel that contained a potent blaster, as he aimed at the figure and opened fire.

The shots blinked out of existence before they hit the target, and with a brief gesture Billy no longer had the weapon. It flew into the figure's hand, and a second later crumpled to dust.

"Stubborn. Seems to be a shared trait," the figure said. "It is still without a point."

"I disagree," Billy said, having flipped several more switches as the figure spoke. The machine hummed around them as Billy lunged for the master switched.

He stopped, frozen, in his tracks.

"I still speak the truth," the figure said, approaching the immobile former Ranger. "The balance will be struck."

His hand reached out.

"No matter what-"

"**NO!"**

The nearby wall exploded with the cry, as Delphine flew in, her blade slashing across the figure's form. Billy found he could move again, as he collapsed in a heap.

"DO IT WILLIAM! SWIFTLY!' Delphine yelled, and dashed at the figure in a flash of white.

Her sword passed through him this time. A second later, he had her by the throat.

"Enough."

Delphine was silent as the gray oblivion erupted across her form, consuming the white of her uniform before she shattered into dust.

"This is what must be done. This is the will of the universe. All else pales in comparison," the figure said, as he turned towards Billy…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world was breaking apart. So was Dr. K's heart, as she scrambled on her knees across all the destruction. How could she have been so foolish…what had she done…what had she done…

She should have stayed alone.

She was…alone.

No Rangers left.

Nothing but the blood on her hands.

Literally, as she staggered through a choking dust cloud and found her hands plunging into something wet and sticky. She looked at her bloody palms in shock before her eyes turned to the source of it.

Ziggy Grover. So flippant. So aggravating. So…very precious.

He lay before her, his chest crushed by a rock, his eyes frozen in his final moments of surprise. She'd failed him. Failed them all.

"…no…no no no no…Ziggy…!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy hadn't gone far.

Just to the master switch.

"My disagreement stands."

With one swift motion, the Empyrean Trigger was pulled.

"NO," The figure said, raising a hand.

Once again, a brilliant radiance was born, bright enough to consume even the figure.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"ZIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!" Dr. K screamed to the voiceless, collapsing heavens.

_BLINK._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"DR. K! IS THAT-!"

_BLINK._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The escape pods are-!"

_BLINK._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

_BLINK._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"_Zordonwecan'tIwon'tdamnyouallthisisn'tagoodthingIwillsaveyouwecan'tneverthiscan'thappenWE'RETHEPOWERRANGERS."

_BLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINKBLINK._

"_**I am the power. I will protect you."**_

Then there was silence.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_**Somewhere. Everywhere.**_

"ZIGGY! ZIGGY!" Dr. K screamed, surging up. She found herself in a pair of arms.

"Whoa, whoa, Dr. K. Calm down. Calm down. It's me. It's Flynn. No need to raise a caterwaul. Calm down," Flynn said, trying to comfort the clearly shattered scientist.

"Huh…wuh…Ziggy…Flynn?"

"Yeah."

"…What happened?"

"I dunno Doc, but if this is the afterlife, I have to say it's not quite what I expected." Flynn said, looking around. The two were in an expansive room, larger then it appeared at first glance: screens and computers filled its corners and lined its walls, pipes built within the structure connecting to other areas within the room. Within the center of it, amongst more complex computers, was a large empty tube, which may or may not have been the source of the light source that illuminated the room. Behind Flynn and Dr. K were six other tubes, smaller in size, and currently occupied.

By costumes. Familiar looking costumes.

"…Doc, did you have a secret lab with prototype outfits or something?" Flynn asked, as he helped the petite woman to her feet, both of them still looking at the white and gold outfit in front of them.

"Ranger Series Blue, had I any workable prototypes, I would have brought them to…the vortex…where…I wish I knew…"

Flynn was about to reply when the small blaster pistol was pressed against his head.

"Hello," Jen said in a low tone that verged on a growl. "I would like some answers. You seem like as good a place as any to start."

A second later, Jen had her own blaster pointing at her head.

"Sorry Jen, but I recall this is the best way to get something through your head," Carter Grayson said. "Drop it and calm down."

"Carter…what…no. It might be a trick. You put YOUR gun down if you're Carter!"

"Ah, pardon the interruption my good people, but while you discuss the finer points of who is who, you wouldn't mind movin' that blaster a wee bit to the left now, would ye?" Flynn said.

"That sounds like a good idea," a new voice said, and everyone turned to look at the speaker, who waved. "Hi! I'm Bridge!"

"If I wanted your name, I'd give it to you." Jen said.

"Oh, yes, I can see the strength you emit. But uh, you see…I can also tell by that that while you're stubborn and bull-headed, you're not cold or stupid. So I know you're not going to actually shoot that nice Irish man there, so why don't you just…"

"Irish? Hey! Ah'm-!" was all Flynn got out before another figure loomed out of the shadows and grabbed Jen's wrist, giving it a quick twist that caused her to drop her firearm. She yelped and whirled away from the figure, as Flynn turned to give thanks…and found himself lacking words as he discovered he was looking at a humanoid dog-person. Carter seemed equally surprised.

"Very nice distraction, Carson. Your next assignment is to tell me why you're wearing Cadet Tate's uniform," Anubis Cruger said, retrieving Jen's firearm from the ground.

"Well sir as you recall that happened when Jack left and Sky was promoted so I got promoted too and I now wonder why the girls didn't get promoted they helped us defeat A-Squad which is why there is no more A-Squad and you should really know this Cruger sir and wasn't a tornado ripping up SPD headquarters and you all seem very confused and come to think of it I am confused too…"

"How's this for clarity?" came a new voice, as a sword came down from the shadows behind Bridge and placed itself on his shoulder.

"What? Leo?" Carter said.

"Hey Carter. Been a while. Now, I agree with the gun girl. I'd like some answers please," Leo said.

"The testosterone in this room is approaching overload," Dr. K commented.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Jen retorted.

"It means, violent white uniform girl, that everyone should just calm down," came yet another new voice, as Robert "RJ" James glided into the room, gesturing downward with his palms. For a moment, Dr. K idly wondered where everyone was coming from.

"…Who are YOU?" Leo, Bridge, Carter, Jen, and Flynn all asked at roughly the same time and fashion. RJ winced.

"Ow, I feel so alone."

"Hey! He's right! COOL IT! Now's not a time to be turning on each other!" came (surprise surprise) a new voice. However, much to her shock, Dr. K found she recognized the speaker.

"…Zachary Taylor?"

"It's Zack miss. Just…Zack…hold on. How do you know my name?" Zack said.

"…You are Zachary Taylor, Ranger Series Black of the Generation 1 Rangers, helmed by the alien Zordon of Eltar, wielder of the Mammoth Power Coin?"

"…Uh yes?" Zack said.

"…I think I may have a rough idea of what's happened…maybe." Dr. K said.

A loud blast near the gathered Rangers cut off her remaining sentence.

"I don't care for answers, I just require a door. Right now!" said a figure in horned armor holding a shotgun-like weapon.

"Whoa man!" Zack said, backing up a bit.

"I reiterate, chill. Listening, it's a good thing," RJ said. Several of the other Rangers had begun reaching for their morphers, before a confused cry cut them all off.

"Mike?!" Leo said, rushing forward. "I don't understand, how did you get the Magna Defender's powers back?"

"I do not know what you mean, Red Ranger!" the Magna Defender growled, looking down at the human. "If this is some trick of yours to stop me from getting my vengeance, I will destroy you!"

"Hey wait! Nobody's destroyin' anybody!" Flynn said, putting himself in front of Doctor K.

"I will not be detained from my goal! SCORPIUS MUST DIE!" the Magna Defender yelled: Carter and Cruger had clearly decided going for their blasters was probably the better option, as they slowly did so, watching the tense figure. "AND YOU ARE ALL IN MY WAY!"

"Motro Unios!"

Some green light abruptly struck the Defender from behind, and he suddenly went slack, collapsing onto the floor.

"Sorry all. Seemed like the best option. Could have been messy," Xander Bly said as he stepped up from behind the Magna Defender. He wasn't alone.

"Yeah, what got in HIS coffee?" Charlie 'Chip' Thorn added.

"He shouldn't be like this, something's wrong…" Leo said, kneeling by the entity that was possessing his brother. "…Wait, who are you?"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned around at the command, looking at the person standing in front of the main central tube.

"I don't want this to keep going in circles!" Jason Lee Scott said. "Everyone, calm down."

"…Jason Lee Scott," Dr. K said.

"You know that guy too?" Flynn said.

"…Jason. Well, I suppose it's good you're here. Good to see you," Leo said. Jason looked at him for a moment.

"…Do I know you?"

"…Well yeah, we fought the Machine Empire together! Remember? Venjix?"

"VENJIX?!" Flynn and Doctor K said at the same time, looking at Leo.

"Yeah, Venjix! The Machine Empire general guy!" came, once more, another new voice, as Cole Evans appeared from whatever place everyone else had come from and headed to Jason. "It's an honor to see you again, sir!"

Jason looked at Cole's offered hand, a touch bewildered, though he eventually took it.

"Did you call me to help with some mess? I could really use some help, things are bad…"

"Look, to be honest, I can't really say who you are…" Jason said. "That seems to be…hey!"

Despite the confusion, Dr. K had noticed more and more people were still showing up in the room. Jason's eyes had focused on two more new ones.

"Adam! Rocky! Good, you're here! Who else is…guys?" Jason said, looking at the two Rangers.

"…You're Jason right?" Adam Park said.

"Oh yeah! The original Red Ranger! I remember!" Rocky DeSantos said.

"Original? What?" Zack said, back to being confused and wondering, in the back of his head, why Jason was wearing black.

"Yeah, you know," Rocky said. "You guys had to leave to a peace conference, we replaced you, our powers got destroyed, then we got reborn as the Zeo Rangers…"

"Zeo Rangers?" Adam and Zack asked at the same time.

"Replaced?" Zack added.

"Oy, know anythin' that's going on here?" Xander asked Flynn.

"Wish I did," Flynn replied. Xander looked at him a moment.

"You're Irish?"

"Irish? No! Ah'm-!"

"JASONLEESCOTT!" a sudden cry sounded off, as Chip rushed up to meet the Ranger. "You're here! You're real! Well of course you're real, real as can be, but I mean you're really you! The original Mighty Morphin' Red Ranger!" Chip geeked out.

"What, no love for the brotha'?" Zack asked. Dr. K held her head in pain. There were too many voices, too many thoughts, too many people, she could swear even MORE people had joined the room, and she could swear one of them appeared to be some sort of flickering ghost, and they were all talking at once, confusion reigning…

"HEY! QUIET!" Jason thundered. He'd seen something he hadn't noticed before, as he headed over to a figure crumbled behind a computer and helped them up.

"Urggggggrrrrrrr…" Billy groaned.

"Billy!"

"Billy? Oh man, are you hurt…man?" Zack said, heading over to Jason, noticing Rocky and Adam doing so as well. "Hey, careful guys."

"What? He's our friend too!"

"He is?"

"William Cranston?" Cruger said.

"Cranston? Isn't there a new recruit by that name, Cruger sir?" Bridge said.

"Yes…I believe this is his father. Except it's too young to be his father. I knew it, this mess involves time travel. I never liked time travel," Cruger said.

"Hey, watch it." Jen said.

"Billy Cranston? This has to be…but how…" Dr. K said.

"…Guys?" Billy murmured.

"Yeah Billy it's us. You all right?"

"…Delphine…Cestria…Aquitar…what…what happened…"

"You ever feel like you're left out of the loop?" Xander asked Chip.

"Every day at school."

"That's because you wear a cape, mate," Xander said. "And who are YOU?"

"Hi, I'm TJ. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to add to the confusion," Theodore Johnson said.

"Oh lord. Does anyone ELSE want to fall out of the sky?" Flynn complained.

A rough second later, Zhane and Mackenzie Hartford literally fell out of the sky. On top of Flynn and Xander.

"BLOODY HELL!" Flynn yelled, and the room erupted in renewed confusion…

The light on the central tube ignited, finally bringing a more permanent silence to the room.

"…Zordon?" Jason said.

"_**Not precisely, Rangers,"**_ the figure said as it…as _she _lowered down in the light. Zack's eyes widened.

"…Trini?" Zack said. The figure smiled slightly.

"_**No Rangers. I have no absolute form. All of you see me as someone different. Someone who is, or was, important to you."**_

"…well that explains why Gemma was floating down in the light," Flynn said.

"I did think that was beyond her," Dr. K said.

"…You." Billy said, as he finally got back to his feet. "You were the voice I heard in my head. You helped me build the Empyrean Trigger."

"_**Yes…I did,"**_ the figure said. _**"I had hoped to be here when you all arrived…but circumstances have damaged the process. I arrived last…and many of you…did not arrive at all. But there will be time for that later. I must provide greetings. And introductions."**_

"…Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi, is it possible?" came the last new voice. On any other day, Flynn would have found the robot who had abruptly shown up strange. "Are you…"

"_**Yes Alpha 5. I am,"**_ the woman said. _**"Let me speak, and I will explain. First, I will greet, and introduce. Jason Lee Scott."**_

"Uh, hey there," Jason said.

"_**Zachary Taylor."**_

"Yo all!"

"_**Adam Park."**_

"…Hi."

"_**Rocky DeSantos."**_

"I'm rather confused right now."

"_**Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson."**_

"Hey there all! And it's TJ, please."

"_**Zhane of KO-35."**_

"My head hurts, I honestly can't remember if I have a last name."

"_**Leo Corbett. And the spirit warrior who inhabits his brother, known as the Magna Defender, though he does not seem…appreciative of greetings."**_

"This…isn't going to be permanent, is it?" Leo said, hovering around the still-downed Magna Defender.

"_**Carter Grayson."**_

"Hey. I'm ready to help with whatever needs done."

"_**Jen Scotts."**_

"I want to know what's going on already!"

"_**Cole Evans."**_

"Happy to help…we're going to be able to save Animaria aren't we?"

"_**Waldo "Dustin" Brooks."**_

"Hmmm…what? I'm not napping? Who are all of you?"

"_**Ethan James."**_

"Hey…I recognize most of you!"

"_**Trent Fernedez."**_

"Oh god Trent, I didn't see you! I…oh please tell me you remember me! I don't need…!"

"Relax Ethan, I remember you," Trent replied.

"Oh thank Tolkien!"

"To my regret."

"Oh come on!"

"_**Bridge Carson."**_

"Hi Ethan! Trent!"

"Who's he?" Ethan asked.

"Heck if I know."

"_**Xander Bly and Charles Thorn."**_

"Oy, why'd we get mentioned together?!"

"Maybe she's getting impatient."

"_**Mackenzie Hartford."**_

"Look, since we all seem to be on the same side…just to break the ice, I am an android. Just…you know, putting that out there. Unlike my dad."

"_**Robert James."**_

"Hey hey, my name is RJ. R.J."

"Hey man you stole my gig!" TJ said.

"I do not know good sir, based on overheard comments I am yet unsure who came first."

"_**Flynn McAllistair."**_

"Why are we all talkin' one at a time?"

"I think it was to be polite, young man," Cruger said.

"So…no one is the slightest bit confused that I'm a humanoid robot?" Mack said. There were a chorus of replies from across the room, including 'Seen it before', 'Big deal', and 'Not as uncommon as you'd think.' "…I don't know if I'm happy or sad."

"No…seriously dudes, what's going on?" Dustin asked no one in particular.

"First off, bro, don't call me dude," Zack said. "Second, wait for the glowing Angela…wasn't she Trini earlier? Anyway, wait for her to tell us."

"_**You are all united in a single cause. Past or present, you are all Power Rangers,"**_ the female figure said. _**"With you are allies, teachers, and mentors…as best that could be done. Dr. K, the creator of the Racing Performance Machines, who brought power to Rangers in the darkest of times."**_

"…What's the Racing Performance Machines?"

"That's what RPM stands for, Ranger Series Blue." Dr. K said tersely.

"Ach, we're back to the Ranger Series thing!"

"_**Anubis Cruger, valiant warrior and commander of Space Patrol Delta."**_

"Hello. I think I'm starting to understand what's going on."

"_**Ninjor, creator of the original Power Coins. I apologize for your…altered state."**_

"My body's status means nothing: my heart is all that matters, and it has not changed!" The strange, ghostly figure Dr. K had seen earlier said. "I will lend my aid to these assembled Rangers, in any way possible!"

"_**Alpha 5. Right arm of Zordon of Eltar, creator of the Ranger legacy."**_

"Aiyiyiyiyiyi, caught unprepared for this, I'm so embarrassed…"

"_**And Billy Cranston. The man who built the device that saved you all and brought you here. The man who granted me form and the ability to act."**_

"Who…what are you?" Billy asked.

"Why didn't I wonder that…" Flynn muttered to himself, as the woman smiled.

"_**I…am Sentai. I am the soul of what you call the universal morphing grid."**_ Sentai said. _**"All of you draw your power from me. In a way…you are all my children."**_

The Rangers were silent. For the most part.

"…Well, it's not creepy to hear Madison say that or anything. Right Chip?" Xander said.

"…It sounds kind of nice coming from Vida," Chip said after a second.

Dr. K waited a few more seconds, and then braced herself and stepped forward.

"Did I do this?"

The assembled Rangers looked at her.

"All of us, brought together across time. You clearly wanted to save us. Is it because…of what I did?"

"…_**Unfortunately, Dr. K, it is. It is NOT, however, for the reason you think,"**_ Sentai said. "_**I wish I could have met you under better circumstances. I wish…all of you had been here. But it…but HE has seen otherwise."**_

"Who's he? Why ARE we here?" Jason asked.

"…_**He is Entropy, Jason."**_ Sentai said. _**"He seeks to take all you have done, and scour it from the face of existence. The worst part is, he is technically right."**_

Silence reigned.

"But…we're the good guys." Flynn said.

"_**That, Flynn, is the heart of the problem. That, I am afraid, has led you here. The greatest challenge you will ever face."**_

"…I really need a smoothie."

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From outside, the building was very familiar. Familiar to several faces, as it seemed a fusion of several fortresses and commander centers that had, at one point, served the Power Rangers.

Outside it, Entropy stood, staff over one shoulder. He regarded the building, and what lay within. Feeling the changes the being inside had wrought.

"…Very well. If that is how it must be done."

Entropy turned and walked away. The gauntlet had been thrown down. He would answer it, and crush the hand that wielded it.

The balance would be struck.

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_I__'ve never been…the strongest Ranger. I've never been the most confident._

_I know what's happened._

_Reality is dying. Everything is being destroyed. And as we were to find out, we were what caused it._

_I would think…that there would be no hope…but I am a Ranger. I look around me, and I see Rangers. I look around me, and I see hope. If there is anything in all of time and space that can save the universe from itself, it is us._

_We are the Power Rangers._

_Let what may come come._

_

* * *

_

I believe there is a trend to show a 'preview' of the story. I'll keep it brief.

**I AM ENTROPY.**

**I AM THE FATE OF ALL THINGS.**

**I WILL NOT BE DENIED.**


	2. Whom The Gods Would Destroy

Chapter 1: Whom The Gods Would Destroy

"_The term 'power' comes from the Latin POSSE: to do, to be able, to change, to influence or effect. To have power is to possess the capacity to control or direct change. All forms of leadership must make use of power. The central issue of power in leadership is not Will it be used? But rather Will it be used wisely and well?"_

_-_Al Gini

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_**"I do not know how long ago I was created. My life, as it were, stretches deep into the past, perhaps billions of years ago.**_

"_**I do not know who, or what created me. I don't know if they meant for their universal energy source to gradually have a mind, or if I was an unexpected development. I will never know: by the time the first inklings of my sentience were forming, my creators had long vanished. I have never been able to find a trace of them. I…do wonder sometimes if I am the cause of that.**_

"_**The years passed. Other beings besides my makers learned to tap into me and use me as fuel to empower themselves. Some used my powers for good, others for evil. I did not have the ability to decide who could take my power: it was not my place. All I could do was watch, learn, and continue to grow.**_

"_**In time, a new being accessed my strength, a champion of light. You knew him as Zordon of Eltar."**_

"…an' who the hell was he again?" Flynn asked. The grouped Rangers had, by now, settled down into a rough semi-circle around the tube of light where Sentai floated.

"Zordon is our mentor and leader. He's the guy who made the Rangers," Jason said.

"Yeah, dude's super old and super awesome," Zack said.

"None of us would be here without him," Adam added.

"Yeah! He's like this big floating…head in a tube," Rocky said. "…I never really understood how that worked though."

"Zordon was indeed one of the greatest beings to ever live," Zhane said.

There was a pause, and Zhane realized several people were looking oddly at him. A second later, the fact that all the Rangers had been plucked from different parts of their personal time stream crashed back into his mind with a vengeance.

"…Was?" Jason said. Zhane froze, trying to find an out. He could…

"_**Your concern is understandable, Zhane, but unneeded. Should this…work out well, knowledge can easily be removed from minds where it cannot be known. You may tell him what you have seen,"**_ Sentai said.

"…uh…um…" Zhane stammered despite himself. "Zordon was…he was…uh, great?"

"Whoa whoa whoa! What's with the past tense here?" Zack protested. "Zordon can't…I meant he couldn't…Zordon isn't _capable_ of…!"

"Yeah! We'd save him!" Rocky said. "Or he'd save us! Or…he can't just…"

"…He did," Zhane said. "You have to understand…there was an army of evil…the likes of which had never been seen before. It was attacking everything, beating back all our efforts, they were taking over the universe…Andros…uh, he was the Red Ranger, um my Red Ranger, we called ourselves the Space Rangers……….he had to destroy him. Destroy Zordon. To save everyone."

Silence.

"…ai-yi-yi-yi…Zordon…" Alpha 5 said, the sorrow clear even in his usual mechanical tone; Jason, Zack, Adam, and Rocky could just stare dully. Zhane, despite realizing he'd handled it about as well as he could, still wished he could crawl into a hole and disappear.

"Uh, right then!" Dustin said. "Miss Tori lady…power…person thing…what else is going on?"

"_**Zordon of Eltar used my strength in his battles with the witch Rita Repulsa, and those she served. His battles brought him victory, at a cost. He was cast outside of normal time, only able to interact with the world through this very mechanism I currently occupy. This did not prevent him from realizing that Rita would return, and when she did, sooner or later the darker forces behind her would come as well. With Alpha 5, he began to make preparations. Some aided him, like Ninjor, but when Rita returned, it was Zordon who had created the most vital weapon for the wars to come. He had created a soldier known as a Power Ranger."**_

"I'm assuming this has a point?" Flynn asked.

"Shush. Nikki is talking," Xander said.

"Indeed, it is impolite to keep interrupting her, Ranger Blue," Cruger said.

"Not you too!"

"FLYNN!" Dr. K hissed between her teeth.

"Right, right."

"_**Zordon's creation worked better than he had dreamed. His previous battle with Rita had cost him many allies, and he did not wish for that to happen again, but even he was amazed how well his chosen wielders of the Power Coins handled themselves. He did not expect all of you to survive. You not only did, you thrived. Even when greater evils like Lord Zedd came…"**_

"Who?" Zack said.

"Rita's boss. He was even worse than her," Adam said.

"Zedd?…Why do I…Oh yeah! Thrax!" Mack said. "You remember him, right Bridge? Xander?"

"Um…"

"No?" Xander said.

"What's a Thrax?" Adam said.

"Rita and Zedd's son. Come on guys, you were…oh. Time lines…I hate…time travel…" Mack trailed off as looks of shocked horror came over several of the Ranger's faces.

"Rita and Zedd had a KID? UGH! OH YUCK!" Rocky gagged. "Oh god, I can't unsee the pictures…!"

"What's wrong with that?" Chip asked.

"Oh what indeed, let's see, how about that Zedd looked like a homeless person got all of his skin peeled off like an onion and then got metal pipes glued to his body!" Rocky groaned.

"…Uh…yeah, that is pretty gross."

"Argh…why did I have to get picked, why couldn't they have picked Aisha…!" Adam groaned.

"Come now Adam, it's not that repugnant," Billy said.

"YES IT IS!"

"…All right maybe it is, but that's beside the point," Billy said. "Continue, Sentai."

"_**The Rangers endured. In the end, powers changed hands due to seeking new paths of life, instead of death."**_

"That's where you left, Zack," Adam said.

"Why'd I leave again?"

"Peace conference. I left too. So did Trini," Jason said.

"…Okay, if that's what happened but…"

"What?"

"Isn't it kind of odd that only Rangers were chosen?"

"……………You know, I always did…" Jason said.

"_**Coincidence is very strange sometimes. But I assure you, it was simply that. Perhaps the world felt you would be best suited for the task."**_

"…If you say so."

"_**The villains, however, did not cease. In time, the original devices Zordon had created to make his Rangers were destroyed. Faced with this, Zordon turned to his primary aid, Ninjor, in creating new coins."**_

"That I did! Magnificently!"

"We did have to browbeat you some Ninjor," Billy said.

"You can understand my need for caution!"

"I guess all that stuff on Dr. O's video was accurate…" Ethan commented.

"Dr. O?" Jason said.  
"Dr. Oliver. You know, Tommy."

"…TOMMY?"

"Yeah! Original Green Ranger? White Ranger? Red Zeo Ranger? Black Dino Thunder Ranger?"

"Wait WHAT? He got to be a Ranger AGAIN?" TJ said.

"…Doctor?!" Jason and Billy said at roughly the same time.

"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP AND LET HER FINISH!" Jen roared.

"I am now grateful I did not give her her firearm back," Cruger commented.

"_**However, worse evils would again destroy those powers. Zordon turned to a new energy to continue his successful battle…and this is where he made his first error. While he selected a new source of power, he designed it to recreate his Power Ranger concept rather then adapting the power to something new. It was understandable, due to its success…but it was an error, despite that."**_

"What?" Rocky said.

"No it wasn't!" Jason protested.

"_**Unfortunately, it was. Why will become clear,"**_ Sentai said. _**"As new evils emerged, so did Zordon continue to modify the powers. Despite their source, or unique facet, they all maintained the same base. They were all Power Rangers. And so, all their powers passed through me, drawing on my energy to empower or supplement their strength. Zordon had even given me a name: the Universal Morphing Grid. And so I watched as you did battle against your enemies. Including the darkest hour of the Rangers, where it seemed like evil would win. To stop this, Zordon made his final sacrifice. He destroyed himself to unleash a wave of purifying energies that would wipe out evil wherever it could. He succeeded. He…did it for all of you. He chose to die so you would not have to."**_

Silence settled on the room once more. Flynn supposed he could see where the other Rangers were coming from: if someone had dragged him into what he could consider the future and told him Dr. K was doomed to die giving her life for him and his friends, he'd have been shocked too.

"Ai-yi-yi…" Alpha 5 said again. "…We thought you might exist."

Dr. K recognized the second line as a sneaky way of changing topics, and it worked, as the several Rangers who had seemed affected by this news looked at the robot. Apparently for all his annoying vocalization, he had competence lurking beneath it.

"Zordon and I had theorized several times from our work and studies that there was a rudimentary sentience within the morphing grid. We made some effort to try and make contact…"

"_**I know. At the time, I did not reply. I did not think it was**__**…**__**my place,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**Perhaps it was best. For in Zordon**__**'**__**s creation of the Power Ranger, he may have sped up my development**__**…**__**but doing such a thing was his first mistake. Sadly, his sacrifice was the other.**__**"**_

"WHAT! How can you say that?!" Jason yelled, clearly with more vehemence then some of his companions expected. Sentai sighed.

"_**This is the difficult part**__**…**__**Jason, you devoted yourself to refining your body. You know what was needed to do it well, and what did it harm.**__**"**_

"Yeah so?"

"_**You also know that some things that did it harm were enjoyable. Such as sweet food. The way to handle it so the overall result was beneficial was to apply balance.**__**"**_

"So…what? We upset the balance…by doing too much good?"

"…_**precisely.**__**"**_

"WHAT? Man, that's WHACK! Seriously!" Zack said. "How can you do _too much_ good? Where's the issue, man?!"

Sentai sighed again.

"_**Picture the universe as functionally similarly to a human body. A human body has requirements: food, water, sleep. If you deny the body these things, the body suffers. But if you give too much of these things to the body, you can likewise suffer**__**…"**_

"You're seventy percent water. You can still drown," Chip said.

"_**Yes Chip, that is an accurate metaphor. The universe operates, in some ways, on the same basis, with energy and the like. Except the universe also monitors far more abstract concepts, such as morality. It can swing back and forth, but ultimately, the universe seeks balance. Zordon, for all his good intentions, upset the balance.**__**"**_

"…that's bull! Why would the universe care if we won or lost? Wouldn't things be too big and beyond our understanding?" Jen said, stepping forward. "Why would it matter that we don't lose? It's insane!"

"_**As said, the universe is, in it**__**'**__**s own way, a living creature**__**…**__**much like I am in my relation to my existence as a source of power. The universe is even older then I am, one could say it is more**__**…**__**developed,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**As for what you did**__**…**__**if it had just ended with Zordon, this would not have happened.**__**"**_

"Zordon upset the balance of good and evil," Ninjor said.

"_**Yes. In his sacrifice, he wiped out a massive amount of evil forces that threatened the universe**__**…**__**but in doing so, he did not balance the scales, he unbalanced them again, this time in the form of good. Had things progressed as normal, the balance would have corrected itself in time**__**…**__**except for Zordon**__**'**__**s other tragic mistake. The Ranger concept. He had done more than create the best possible warriors for his mission. He had created a TEMPLATE, which had been widely seen around the universe. One that others sought to replicate. And did.**__**"**_

"You mean the Lightspeed Rescue program, don't you Miss?" Carter asked.

"_**Yes. Though you were not the first. The first were the Galaxy Rangers, who, upon being granted the power of their legendary swords, subconsciously focused the power through me. I believe that some, if not all of them, knew of previous Rangers, and in seeking power to protect and battle against evil, they subconsciously chose the template. Perhaps the universe had something to do with it. Acting in your benefit when things were different. Before this tragedy was set irreversibly in motion.**__**"**_

Dustin glanced at Leo, who looked as confused as Dustin felt.

"…Why does it matter what kind of heroes were made? Wouldn't good winning in general be the key?" Carter asked, after working something out for himself.

"_**No. Because for most, good always won at a cost. Cole could tell you stories of the past of what forces empowered him. Xander and Chip could likewise tell their own tales. Good won, but barely, and at great cost. Much like Zordon did, thousand of years ago,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**Then the Ranger template was created, and continued on after Zordon**__**'**__**s sacrifice. Returning forces of good utilized it against their old or new enemies. Zordon**__**'**__**s creation changed things drastically: now, instead of good barely winning, good won convincingly. Sometimes overwhelmingly. Creatures that had conquered galaxies and whole dimensions found themselves stopped cold, and despite all their efforts, they would ultimately never regain their forward momentum and fall at the hands of what had stopped them. At the hands of Rangers. And in doing so, Zordon**__**'**__**s error was not corrected. Rather, it grew worse.**__**"**_

"…And we undid everything Venjix unleashed," Flynn said.

"_**That was the ultimate trigger. Due to time manipulation, the order of events was somewhat tangled**__**…**__**but the universe**__**'**__**s efforts to balance the scales ultimately was not enough. One could consider the tragedies you suffered as part of the attempts to make things **__**'**__**right**__**'**__**. The loss of your Pink Ranger, for one, Leo. The destruction of the Wild Force powers, Chip and Xander**__**'**__**s teammate Nick losing his father and mentor**__**…**__**but none of it stuck. Ultimately, a grand gesture was needed, and hence Dr. K**__**'**__**s actions resulted, through very little fault of her own, in the complete destruction of the world.**__**"**_

"WHAT?!" TJ yelled. "You're lying!"

"…she's not." Dr. K said quietly.

"But they can't just, there would, why wasn't there a warning?!" TJ sputtered.

"So everything we did, all the lives we saved was for nothing? What the hell kind of message is that?!" Jen yelled.

"_**The universe is not human. It may govern morality, but it does not follow morality. It seeks balance, and to it, such a price was needed**__**…**__**except it too, didn**__**'**__**t stick,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**Dr. K sought to undo what she perceived as her crime by manipulating time. She succeeded. In doing so, she produced the straw that broke the camel**__**'**__**s back.**__**"**_

Flynn was about to say something, only to be cut off as Dr. K sagged against him. He was confused for a moment, until he saw her hands covering her face. It hit him a moment later: Dr. K had sought to fix things, and in doing so, she'd broken the whole universe. The anguish must have been unbearable.

That realization was not lost on the rest of the Rangers, as a moment later Bridge and TJ were next to Flynn, helping to support the small doctor. It was clear from the looks of the surrounding faces that if those two hadn't done it, they would have: concern was even etched on the rather surly Jen's face.

"_**Oh, Dr. K, do not take the weight on yourself. It was merely a matter of cruel circumstance. Had you found another way to defeat your enemy, and begun work on restoring your world, this likely would not have happened**__**…**__**but the problem was still at the brink. There surely would have been more Ranger teams, and one of them would have provided the breaking point. What happened was truly no one**__**'**__**s fault**__**…**__**that is why this is such a tragedy.**__**"**_

"…no…NO. You _knew,__"_Jen said, as she turned back to Sentai, who looked quizzically at Jen. "YOU knew! You told us you inspired Billy to build the machine that brought us all here! You knew this was going to happen, and instead of WARNING us, you had GLASSES here build some stupid MACHINE…!"

"_**I did not know,**__**"**_ Sentai said, and Jen strangely fell silent. _**"**__**The machine, the Empyrean Trigger**__**…**__**I did not plant the seeds of knowledge and inspiration into Billy knowing this would someday happen. It began when I was less developed, barely able to do that**__**…**__**and I chose to do it because of your adventures, Jen. Because of how your enemy Ransik traveled back through time, and nearly ended the Ranger legacy with your team.**__**"**_

"…Obviously he didn't, or I'd hate to see how even more lacking in sunshine Miss Scotts would be," RJ said. Jen glared at him, but she found his relaxed tone and 'kidding' expression to be hard to stay annoyed at.

"_**Ransik**__**'**__**s actions prompted the first seeds I put in Billy**__**'**__**s mind. The mutant risked great damage with his brutal methods, but it was the concept of someone with a more subtle hand having access to time travel that made me act. Someone could have gone back further, or acted with more grace, and drastically altered history and the lives of the Rangers without anyone knowing, or being in time to stop them. You may protest your Time Force could have prevented it, Jen, but who can say if your 30**__**th**__** century technology could prevent 50**__**th**__** century interference,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**I decided that an ace-in-the-hole would be needed, and began placing ideas in Billy**__**'**__**s head. The rudimentary concept of the Empyrean Trigger was to provide a backup defense against hostile time travel.**__**"**_

"…What happened?" Billy asked.

"_**I theorized earlier that my slow development over the ages was due to the originally longer timespan between those who tapped my energies. With the Ranger legacy, I was subjected to constant new interaction and experience**__**…**__**I suspect I grew faster. Even so, it came as a great shock to me when the Rangers of SPD were joined by a future Ranger who called himself Omega**__**…**__**and that upon seeing him, I was able to see another version of him, existing so far into what all of you would call the future that even I was stunned. He presided over a place called the Hall of Legends, where all Ranger history was stored**__**…**__**and that made me realize that as much as I had developed, I had not advanced enough to be aware of every group of Rangers there would ever be. Only when they emerged in the current **__**'**__**line**__**'**__** did I become aware of them. And based on what I could see in the Hall of Legends, it seemed like there would be many more to come. And once again, due to the utilization of time travel, even I, at this point, could not see them in what would be considered **__**'**__**proper**__**'**__** chronological order.**__**"**_

"It's rather like a…timey wimey ball of stuff," Chip said. Several Rangers gave him odd looks, but Sentai's continued explanation prevented Chip's.

"_**It was at the end of the tenure of Mack**__**'**__**s team, the Overdrive Rangers, that I first began to get an inkling of what I know now. Something happened at the end of it, a potent sacrifice, and a sacrifice that was well rewarded**__**…**__**but it was watching the Overdrive Rangers after all was said and done that I realized that with this last-minute reward, none of them had truly suffered loss. They had all achieved victory, and total victory at that. It made me turn back, to look at Xander and Chip**__**'**__**s Rangers**__**…**__**and I realized the evil they vanquished had last claimed great cost when it had first emerged. Not only that, but it could only be sealed. The Mystic Force destroyed it, at no cost. The trend continued. All the way back. Total victory, at virtually no cost,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**And as I studied, I began to realize what I have explained to you, about the balance. That there might be a worse threat to the Rangers than interference through time travel. As a result, I turned the task of preventing chronological interference over to the Omega Ranger**__**…**__**which in the end was needed, but that is another story. To Billy, I began imparting new information, to build upon the Trigger in case of a greater problem**__**…**_

_**I was right. And wrong, because even I didn**__**'**__**t know how fierce the backlash would be.**__**"**_

"But…how could our actions…cause this backlash, I mean, even with the body thing…" Rocky mumbled.

"_**The human body is immensely complicated, Rocky. Some of your fellows have medical training: they can attest to this,**_" Sentai said. _**"**__**The universe is even more so**__**…**__**and the curse of complication is it increases how many things can go wrong. People can be born with terrible crippling conditions, suffer blows to the head and lose all their memories, or catch diseases where the cure is ultimately as fatal as the illness. When Dr. K rewrote time, it happened with the universe. The human body can suffer problems where its defenses misread something harmless or part of itself as a threat**__**…**__**and when Dr. K finally pushed the balance too far, the same thing happened. The universe began read the entire Ranger legacy not as an oddity, or even a problem, but as a threat. In other words, the universe saw the Rangers as a disease. And it activated its immune system to neutralize it.**__**"**_

There was stunned silence once more.

"_**It is the worst thing that could happen to all of you, and as unfair as possible**__**…**__**but the universe does not deal in fair. It deals in balance,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**In a way, I can see why it began to think this way. The only type of cell that never naturally dies, after all, are cancer cells.**__**"**_

"…THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" Zack erupted again. "That's just…What the HELL? CANCER? We don't HURT ANYTHING! We save lives! That's it! How can…Cancer?! That's messed up! How can you say that? I just…I don't understand…were we wrong to try and save everyone?"

"_**No. But the universe, as said, deals in higher things. Such dealings are**__**…**__**quite cruel, by mortal standards. But as said, this is not a decision of a mortal mind. It is of an existence that, as wrong as it was, read YOU as wrong. And decided that since previous attempts had failed, the most drastic measure was needed,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**It manifested the very concept of things coming to an end in concrete form. Entropy itself, the fate of all things. And it sent Entropy to rewrite the progress of time and space until the balance was back to normal. To do this would bring terrible destruction all across time and space**__**…**__**but to the universe, the other result was worse. And so it did what it was tasked to do. It changed history.**__**"**_

"…Wait, didn't you have the Omega Ranger…?" Ethan asked.

"_**The Omega Ranger saw it even as I did. He acted as swiftly, and as truly, as I could expect of any of my children,**__**"**_ Sentai said, a note of sorrow in her voice. _**"**__**Entropy destroyed him with a gesture. By the time I mustered myself to act, he had already altered history**__**…"**_

"…HOW did it change history?" Jason asked, looking worried.

"…_**it sought to rewrite the timeline by removing your greatest successes, as needed. So it first targeted who was considered by many to be the greatest Ranger in history. Thomas Oliver**__**…"**_Sentai said. _**"…**__**I was too slow. It destroyed him, and his soon-to-be-love Kimberly, and threw the universe into chaos.**__**"**_

The room had been silent before. This time, the quiet that descended on the room seemed like that of a tomb.

"…_**I did not think**__**…**__**the universe**__**'**__**s response would be so**__**…**__**drastic,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"…**__**he fought like a champion. Or he would. He**__**…**__**had no chance. None of you would have. But he never wavered. He**__**…**__**did better than I did, in a way. All I could do was tell Billy to activate the Trigger. And even in that, I was too slow.**__**"**_

"…Entropy appeared and attacked when I was turning it on," Billy explained. "But…the machine wasn't fully complete. Oh it was predominantly done, but not…all together."

"_**And Entropy damaged it further when he threw you into it. Had Delphine not**__**…**__**also given her life so you could complete the activation, you may not have been able to turn it on at all,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**While the Trigger mostly worked in how it was supposed to give you a fighting chance**__**…**__**it was supposed to bring you all here. All Rangers, from all teams. Instead**__**…**__**it was only able to bring you. The rest**__**…**__**were lost. Perhaps forever.**__**"**_

Silence once more.

"_**That is what has happened. The rest**__**…**__**I don**__**'**__**t know.**__**"**_

"I know," Jason said quietly. "We'll do what we always do. We'll fight back, and we'll save them. We _WILL_ save our friends and family. We'll set things right. I don't believe anything less."

Jason's assessment was mutual, as the various Rangers added their agreements to it.

"_**I should have known that. Perhaps I still have more to learn,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**As implied, the Empyrean Trigger was ultimately designed to allow the Rangers a defense against an attack on an existential basis. What it has done is created a pocket universe while simultaneously removing you from your normal one. By doing so, the process that would erase you is jammed: think of it as an assembly of dominoes where a group have been removed and all the dominoes must fall in one move. In this pocket universe, I can manifest as you see me. I can also, and have done so, bend the rules as far as I can in your favor against Entropy. He will have to come here to complete his task. He already has.**__**"**_

"…I hate to be the killjoy, but HOW are we supposed to fight him?" Flynn asked, looking up. "If he can kill us by LOOKING at us…"

"_**In the natural universe, that is true. In this artificial one, however, I have some of the cards,**__**"**_ Sentai said. _**"**__**This fortress, or rather its reality, is under my complete control: even Entropy cannot enter it. By that nature, you will not need to rest, eat, or do other natural processes while inside: it is if you are frozen in time. And I have forced him to play by the creed you Rangers hold: he cannot escalate the fight. In other words, he cannot erase you, provided you do not attack him first.**__**"**_

"So how do we beat him?" Cole asked.

"_**By yourselves, you cannot. As said, the Empyrean Trigger was supposed to bring you all here. All together I had hoped we could correct this mistake**__**…**__**but I have improvised as much as I can. I have brought as much as your gear as I could manage**__**…**__**some may be further retrieved later. I have also brought all I could of the Trigger**__**'**__**s materials. We have one chance: Billy must reconstruct the Trigger and bring the rest of the Rangers. With all your power combined**__**…**__**there may be a hope of stopping Entropy. Otherwise**__**…**__**you can only try and survive.**__**"**_

"But it took me YEARS to build the Trigger the first time…"

"_**I have brought aid as best I could. Let us hope that and experience speeds the process.**__**"**_

"Do we have what's needed to rebuild the Trigger?" Mack asked.

"_**For the most part. The rest can hopefully be improvised.**__**"**_

"You said you brought as much gear as you could, but some could be 'retrieved later'. What do you mean by that?" Cruger asked.

"_**It is somewhat complicated**__**…**__**the damaged Empyrean Trigger has left some gear in a state of flux, of sorts. In theory, you might need to do more than simply try and call it, as you normally would: you might have to try and will it to yourself. Unfortunately, one set of gear I was unable to**__**…"**_

"Hey! What the…?!" Came a voice in the background, as the Rangers and their advisors turned to the sound. They discovered Trent kneeling by a crumpled body; specifically, Leo's. Apparently Trent had been the first to glance in the right direction, as everyone's attention had been focused on Sentai.

It was Carter, however, that noticed that while Leo had fallen, someone else was missing altogether.

"You all right?" Trent asked, as Leo groaned groggily.

"How did…" Leo mumbled, as Carter headed over to check for injuries…and to ask the question he felt he already knew the answer to, and on another level he didn't want confirmed.

"Where's the Magna Defender?"

Leo had no reply, but his eyes widening his panic served well enough.

"He DIDN'T…!" Jason said.

"Jason, we Red Rangers traded stories during something that's going to happen in your future. Leo told me all about the headaches he had during the days of the Magna Defender…" TJ said, as several other Rangers searched around the room and confirmed that the Magna Defender was indeed gone.

"…Why did you bring him like this?" Leo asked, looking at Sentai. "WHY LIKE THIS?"

"_**The Trigger**__**…**__**the damage caused**__**…**__**I**__**'**__**m sorry. I wish I**__**'**__**d done better.**__**"**_

"What's that idiot done?" Jen said.

"The Magna Defender's…EAGER to put it as nicely as possible. He probably woke up, sucker-punched Leo, and then ran off to fix this problem before he heard all of the information," TJ said.

"I think…he did hear," Leo said. "He doesn't care. At this point, all he knows is revenge and trying to cut down anything that stands between him and it."

"Oi! Enough talking! Let's get out there and grab him before he gets his rear end vaporized!" Xander said.

"_**Rangers, wait! That may not be the only risk!**__**"**_ Sentai said, as the Rangers began looking for an exit.

"There's MORE? Now I want two smoothies," Flynn complained.

"What is it Sentai?" Jason asked.

"_**Entropy was created to **__**'**__**correct**__**'**__** the imbalance. I may have created this pocket universe to bend the rules needed to give you a chance, but Entropy can bend it right back. All of the time and space that you came from is his to access, and if you won**__**'**__**t escalate the fight and allow him to attack you**__**…**__**he**__**'**__**ll simply summon beings who are NOT bound by such restrictions.**__**"**_

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The structure was another twisted mirror, this time of several kingdoms and hearts of darkness that evil had resided in and planned their schemes. The strongholds were effortlessly and faultlessly fused together, a nightmare bastion of wicked intent and desire.

Deep within, Entropy stood, a lone unidentifiable light shining down above him.

At least until the wall behind him and to his right exploded into a mass of rubble. Despite this sudden new entrance, Entropy did not move an inch as the Magna Defender stalked in.

Some beings would have spoken after such an introduction. The Magna Defender preferred to let his actions speak, as he swung up his Magna Blaster and fired.

The shots sprayed out…and vanished into thin air, not even going near Entropy. The incarnation of ending didn't give any indication he'd noticed.

Growling deep in his throat, the Magna Defender unleashed several more shots. All had the same result, the blasts disappearing into the ether. Having not gotten the hint, the Magna Defender simply shifted the weapon and drew his blade from it, charging forward with another bellow.

It was amazing he heard Entropy speak, and between the noise he was making and Entropy's constantly modulating voice, he wasn't sure what he heard.

The fact of what it COULD be was enough to stop even him.

"…what?"

"Your name. Your real name, as it were. It translates, roughly, to 'zeal'. Fitting," Entropy said, still not looking at the Magna Defender. "You seek the end to the one you blame for what you have lost."

"Yes, and you are in my way! Release the hold of this dimension and return me to my proper place. Scorpius must be destroyed!"

"Do you really believe the end of your enemy will coincide with the end of your pain?" Entropy said. "It's a belief I've seen a great deal of. A deal that has no basis in concrete fact."

The Magna Defender growled so loudly it echoed across the room, as he rushed forward and brought his blade down in a slash.

"YOU KNOW NOTHIN-!"

The fire balls flew past Entropy and detonated on the Magna Defender, throwing him backwards with another bellow. A second spray of destructive blasts flew through the air and blew him back out the impromptu entrance he'd created for himself.

"I know more than you could ever comprehend. I know the highest realities of the universe, and what is needed to uphold them. Your vendetta pales to nothing in comparison," Entropy said, for the first time shifting his vision a bit to where the attacks had come from. "You know your tasks. Execute them."

The emerging figure merely grunted in reply, as he and his companion followed the Magna Defender out through the same hole.

With a gesture from Entropy, the wall closed up.

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The Magna Defender's roar was cut off as he hit the rocky sand outside of Entropy's citadel, bouncing a few times before he stopped himself. He was able to defend just in time as the second spray of attacks exploded around him: he forced his way through the eruptions to look at his enemy.

"LIKE THIS REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE! I WILL DESTROY _YOU FIRST!_" Magna Defender roared.

"Ohhhh, fiercer then the Rangers tended to be," The smaller, lither humanoid of the pair said as they touched down.

"He is that, yes…" The growlish voice replied. "And he is also the key."

"Key?" Magna Defender said, seeing the blades his two enemies carried and readied his own. "Key to what?"

"TO THE EMPRESS' VICTORY!" Goldar bellowed, and charged, as Scorpina laughed merrily.

The clash of the blades shook the ground beneath them.

* * *

"_All the lessons of history in four sentences:_

_Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power._

_The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small._

_The bee fertilizes the flower it robs._

_When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."_

-Charles A. Beard


	3. Man Bites Dog

Chapter 2: Man Bites Dog

"_Semper et infirmi est anima exiguous voluptas Ultio.__"_

("Revenge is sweeter than life itself. So think fools.")

-Decimus Junius Juvenal

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They were all the same, the Rangers.

None of them understood. None of them realized just how fragile their cherished values and possessions were. So many, from so many experiences, so many battles, and still _NONE_ of them understood. In the small corner of his mind that could still think along 'traditional' channels, the Magna Defender had noted that the only one who seemed to comprehend the true nature of grief had been that small woman in a white coat.

They didn't understand what it was like, to fail. Se-no, the WOMAN spoke on how the universe seemed to be out to get the Rangers. The Magna Defender couldn't see how the universe could be any crueler to him.

He'd known then he wasn't invincible, all those years ago. He'd known he was outnumbered in the cause of good. He'd wielded his sword anyway, with confidence and belief he could bear the weight.

For that, everything had been taken from him. Even the peace of death. Instead he'd been cursed to be sealed in the ground by Treacheron, left alone with nothing but how badly he had failed. Century after century, alone with his pain and loss.

They thought him near-insane, the Rangers. In truth, he'd left insanity behind a long time ago.

He could barely look at Sentai. When he did, he saw his wife.

He would have revenge. He HAD to have revenge. No matter what happened.

No matter what stood before him.

_NO MATTER WHAT._

The Defender bellowed as he crashed his blade down, meeting Goldar's sword in mid-strike even as he blocked Scorpina's shorter weapon with his arm guard. Jumping back, he let gravity overtake the two as they stumbled forward before rushing in, slashing across Goldar's back and sides. Goldar snarled and tried to restore his defense, but he was too slow; the Defender immediately closed back in, using one hand to grip the monster's shoulder as he pushed off Goldar's body and flipped backwards, lancing his leg up and smashing his boot into the shocked face of Scorpina. She went tumbling back, holding her head in pain, as her fellow general's roared in anger and surprise.

"I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Goldar bellowed as he clawed at the Defender. The Defender's attack had not compromised his superior position though, and it allowed him to grab at the grasping limb, pulling it towards him and flipping Goldar over his own shoulder.

"You?" the Magna Defender barked, "You think you can stop me?! All you are _is in my way_! DO YOU HEAR ME!" He brought his boot down onto Goldar's stomach, spittle flying from the monster's mouth as the Defender stomped him again and again.

"YOU!" He brought his foot down, a loud CRUNCH sounding, as it smashed into Goldar's shoulder.

"ARE!" Goldar, weakly, tried to get to his knees, doubled over…as the Defender's kick caught him in the ribs, bowling him over again.

"IN!" The Defender's sword struck him in the back, sparks flying.

"MY!" More sword slashes rained down, forcing Goldar face down in the sand.

"WAY!" The Defender readied for one last stomp, this time aimed at Goldar's head, before he was finally struck by Scorpina, up and screaming, her weapon slashing at him even as blood flew from her damaged nose. The Defender blocked her attack with his arm guard, then retaliated with his own slash, which she jumped back to avoid. She swiftly regrouped with Goldar, helping the latter to his feet, as the two of them glared at their shared foe.

"Looks like a Ranger," Scorpina muttered.

"Fights like a monster," Goldar agreed, wiping his jaw. He briefly glared at the Magna Defender, before a grin took over his features. "Should be interesting."

The two traded glances, before unleashing dual blasts of fire at the Magna Defender. The former hero charged right for them anyways, his sword clashing with Goldar's once more.

Scorpina ducked in, getting several blows along his shoulder and arm, throwing off his concentration, as Goldar pressed his advantage, his sword breaking through and connecting with the Defender's chest armor. The Magna Defender growled deep in his throat before drawing up his sheath from his waist, using it as a club to fend off strikes from Goldar even as he battered Scorpina away from his less defended spots. After successfully knocking her away, he dodged another slash and struck Goldar hard to the face, jerking the monster general's head back before he followed up with a straight kick to the chest. Goldar went flying from the blow, landing a few dozen feet away.

Magna Defender then…sheathed his sword. Scorpina didn't let her confusion of such a move interrupt her as she charged him again. Why would he…

Then she heard the click.

Then she felt the barrel against her stomach.

A Ranger would have said something in this instance. A witty line, or a badass boast.

The Magna Defender merely pulled the trigger of his shotgun-like blaster.

The full impact struck Scorpina at point blank range, throwing her away like a rag doll, her armor cracked and breaking. When she came to a stop, she collapsed into a ball, withering in pain.

The Defender blasted her again. Twice. After the last shot, he cocked his gun and turned it back towards Goldar.

"BE GONE." He snarled, as Goldar stared in stupefied horror. He'd seen his Rangers battle with immense focus and determination…but he'd never seen one who'd act so much like _they _would.

If Goldar had known anything about Earth philosophy (and possessed a brain that could do more besides desire battle and to do good service), he might have mused on the words of a famous 19th century cynic. Battle not with monsters…

Instead, all he could do was try and get ready for an attack he knew he wasn't ready for, as the Magna Defender fired at him. Goldar jumped backwards to avoid it…which was exactly what the Defender wanted, as he drew his sword once more before leaping into the air, the blade alight with his power, ready for the finishing stroke…

Before a huge burst of red and black energy smashed into the Magna Defender in mid leap, throwing him away in a huge explosion.

"Really, could you two be any more incompetent?" a haughty voice asked. "I suppose, for the sake of my mother dear, I will have to give my assistance."

So said the High Demon Prince, Olympius, as he calmly walked into the field, his star glowing bright. Goldar crashed down on the ground, the earth cracking around his feet as he glared daggers at the newcomer.

"We didn't need your help!" Goldar snarled.

"Our mutual summoner disagrees," Olympius replied, and sent another surge of energy at the rising Defender, forcing him back down. Goldar, growling, stalked over to the demon prince's side: he didn't like the being called Olympius' attitude, but he liked losing even less, as he added his own fireballs to the mix.

"YOUR TREACHERY WILL NOT PREVENT…ME….!" the Defender roared, trying to stand. But even he couldn't resist the sheer force being leveled against him, as the pair kept firing at the Defender until he finally collapsed under the barrage, fire burning on his armor.

Olympius strolled over, picking the warrior up by the back of his neck.

"Really? This is pathetic," he laughed, before smashing his fist into the Defender's stomach three times. He paused after the third, his hand shining with a vicious light, then punched him one last time, before tossing the Defender to the ground. The Defender was barely aware of the impact before his stomach armor glowed in turn.

Said energy implanted into his armor promptly exploded, cracking it and sending him skidding over to Scorpina's feet.

If anything, Scorpina was even MORE vicious, as she unleashed blow after blow upon The Defender's head and chest armor, shrieking all the while. Having lost his sword after Olympius' armor-cracking attack, the Defender couldn't even live up to his name and mount a proper guard. After a dozen seconds of merciless pounding, Scorpina picked him up and threw him into the air, following with her own jump and vicious kick. The green center of the Magna Defender's armor shattered as he flew towards Goldar, who swatted him out of the sky with his sword, cutting another deep grove into it.

Goldar went for quality instead of quantity in his own attack as he leaned down, grabbing the Defender's helmet horns while keeping his body on the ground with his foot. He pulled back as hard as he could, forcing the back of the Defender's head to smash into his knee, before slamming it back to the ground and stomping the Magna Defender's head into the earth.

"I begin to see why this creature is not a Ranger," Goldar said.

"Still more then enough for you," Olympius said. Goldar growled.

"I serve the great empress Rita Repulsa! Who are YOU to think you can address me as such!" Goldar yelled.

"Because I am the honored son of Queen Bansheera herself! I have the power of the Star, I am the future king of the demons, and you are nothing but a lowly servant!" Olympius replied. "I will wipe these 'Power Rangers' off the face of the Earth as I surely would have done in my own time, gain the favor of Entropy, then find a way to use HIM for my goals. You are nothing but a tool: I will be a GOD. It is only a matter of time. Now, let us wrap this up, shall we…" said Olympius, power crackling between his two hands as he turned to face the Defender.

And his retrieved shotgun.

"RAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Olympius bellowed as the Magna Defender fired a blast right into his face. He staggered away, his visage smoking: Goldar and Scorpina allowed themselves a brief, rueful grin before they began blasting away at the Magna Defender once more, firing at his body until he could no longer even lift his arms. Just to be on the safe side, Scorpina blasted his weapon a good twenty feet away from him.

"It's a pity we have to destroy him: I kind of like his attitude," Scorpina said as the two approached the Defender.

"Save pity for weak creatures, Scorpina. Like this one," Goldar said.

"I won't…be denied…my vengeance…" The Defender rasped, as he produced a small dagger from somewhere. Goldar stomped on his wrist, pinning his arm down.

"It has been a long time since I had such satisfaction. It is good to remember," Goldar said. "If you would mind, Scorpina?"

"Go right ahead, Goldar."

"FOR THE EMPRESS!" Goldar said, raising his sword.

"Hey Goldar! Remember _THIS?_"

An explosion blasted against Goldar's shoulder, driving him back from the Magna Defender with a pained snarl…and a snarl of rage.

"No!" Goldar yelled, his anger ignited at the fact he'd been robbed of destroying a foe…and the fact that he recognized the speaker. "That voice! BLACK RANGER!"

"You bet Goldar!"

A black-clad form touched down to the ground, and Goldar's eyes narrowed at the sight of Zack's familiar uniform.

And of the two UNfamilar uniforms.

"AND I BROUGHT SOME FRIENDS!"

"YOU WILL-ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Goldar bellowed as he found himself on the receiving end of Zack's Power Axe, Jen's V-Weapon, and Cole's Falcon Summoner. The weapon's blasts rocked the ground around the monstrous warrior; he staggered back a few more steps before Scorpina stopped him.

"Same old faces, huh?" Scorpina rasped through her injured face, though said injury hadn't dimmed the fire in her eyes. "Let's respond the same old way…"

"RARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Leo burst from the smoke clouds the Ranger's weapons had made, also in Ranger gear and with Quasar Saber and Transdagger in hand. Almost before the pair could react, he was on them like a wild animal.

"YOU! WON'T! HURT! HIM! ANY! MORE!" Leo bellowed, slashing with both weapons like a madman. Goldar and Scorpina held him off…for a bit, before a dual slash sent both of them backwards with force, their feet carving grooves in the ground.

"COME ON!" Leo roared. "ONE! BOTH! GET MORE FRIENDS! IT WON'T MATTER!"

"…Goldar I think these new Rangers hire psychotics," Scorpina commented.

"I am inclined to agree…"

"IF YOU WON'T-RARGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Leo yelled as arcing energy zapped from the side and exploded against him, sending him flying to the ground in a spray of dust. Goldar growled deep in his throat: he knew exactly how this would be interpreted. Especially considering another blast was already knocking down Zack, Jen, and Cole.

"Well, you can certainly handle yourself after I've worn out one warrior, but you don't seem to do so well with numbers," Olympius said as he strode back from where he'd been blasted. "Let me show you how a TRUE champion of evil battles! I shall fuse their helms to my armor before the day is…"

Blasts erupted around Olympius as they had around Goldar and Scorpina moments ago. He yelled, but his tone was clearly far more annoyance than pain.

"So some of you have actually learned the benefit of a sneak attack! So will you learn NOW…!" Olympius said as he whirled to face his enemy, his spear at the ready.

He never saw it coming.

Goldar and Scorpina just saw a black and gold blur blaze past him. The impact of the blow hit Olympius even as the sound of the attack hit the pair's ears.

"GRARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Olympius roared, as he lurched to the side, feeling the energies reach into him and begin to tear him apart on a molecular level. He tried to turn around again, to counter-attack, to see who had done this…

All he could do, in the end, was fall, with one final cry.

"WH-WHAT HAPPENED…?!"

Olympius exploded into nothing as the Gold Zeo Ranger materialized, giving his staff a slight spin.

"Gold rush," Jason said. Goldar's eyes widened.

"That voice…it can't be!"

"Hello Goldar," Jason said, waving one hand across his face, a motion that seemed to dissolve his helmet, like he'd selectively demorphed just his head. "It's been too long. Wait wait no. It hasn't been anywhere near long enough. Oh, Scorpina. Haven't seen you for a while."

"Too long for you Ranger. Not long enough for me." Goldar growled. He was not angry enough, however, to completely forget that whatever had granted his old enemy this new costume, it had enough kick behind it to strike down Olympius. With one blow.

Neither had he forgotten that Jason was not alone. The Rangers Olympius had blasted were getting back up…and being joined by others.

"And I'd say, your time is about up," Leo said, also once again on his feet and with weapons in hand.

"Holy cats. Goldar," Chip said. "He was one tough specimen, from what I heard."

"I still think he's in deep…muck," Xander replied.

"How do you want to handle this Jason?" Cole said, aiming his Falcon Summoner at the two remaining evil warriors.

"Nothing fancy. Smash and grab. We don't know what Entropy has in store and I'd rather not start brawling immediately with his nastier customers."

"You dismiss me so, Red Ranger!? Do not forget what I've accomplished against you!" Goldar growled.

"Oh don't worry Goldar. I never forgot. Not. One. Thing." Jason said, and with another gesture his helmet was back on.

"Goldar…" Scorpina said, and in her tone Goldar heard the rarest of things. Apprehension. And despite what many would say about them, Goldar knew it took a lot to rattle his comrade in arms.

Yet what could he do? His task was…

"_Enough. Fall back.__"_

"What? But sir…!" Goldar said.

"_Do not forget your reasons for being here, Goldar of Mahan. Fall back. Now.__"_

Goldar growled, but he knew his place.

"It has been decreed that you will live a little longer, Red Ranger! But I swear to you, THIS TIME, all your insults will be repaid in full!" Goldar said, gesturing with his blade before he started to turn around.

"Oh like HELL you're turning tail!" Jen snapped, and opened fire with her V-Weapon once more.

All she hit was rock; Goldar and Scorpina had already teleported away, returning back to the monstrous fusion of enemy citadels that loomed in the distance.

"All right, let's head back to base before anything else comes to get us," Jason said. "Carter, it was Carter right? See if the Defender can be moved…Carter? Carter!"

"…that was…" Carter said, staring at the smoking ground where Olympius once stood. Even with his Ranger gear hiding his face, the shock was clear in Carter's tone and stance.

"That was AWESOME!" Chip said, running over. "You knocked him right into next week! You're even cooler than all the stories, Jason!"

"…yeah…Look, we really need to be heading back. We can address whatever later. Like when we're safely in the base?" Zack said.

"…but…how did…?!" Carter stammered.

"Who was that? One of your big bads?" Flynn said, having wandered over to see what the holdup was.

"That was Olympius, my enemy's son, he was…it took all my team to beat him, even then we needed additional firepower, how did you…it was…"

"I did what I do best," Jason said.

"It's not like he took advantage either," Zhane said, as he and Dustin strolled up, their weapons converted to blaster mode. "He explicitly told us to fire at that guy…Olympius you say? Jason told us to fire at him wide. To get him to turn around, so he wouldn't hit him in the back. He finds that distasteful, despite it's practicality."

"But…even with…how did…was he…?"

"Well uh Carter, I remember that with Rangers, uh…some seemed stronger and…some were not as strong…apparently the first Rangers could have buildings dropped on them I wish I could do that…" Chip rambled in fanboy awe.

"What Chip is trying to say is that the different powers have different levels of strength. I'm sure Dr. K, or Billy, could explain it better. When we get back. Which we should do. Now. Now would be good," Adam said.

"WE'RE GOING! MOVE IT OR LOSE IT!" Jen yelled, putting an exclamation point on Adam's comment, as the Rangers began to retreat with their injured.

"…does she ever…?" Jason asked Carter.

"From what I heard. It can just take a while," Carter said, as they began heading back to the command center.

"I cannot…fail…I must…have revenge…nothing…nothing…" The Magna Defender whispered, carried aloft on some floating gurney Jen had produced from somewhere, claiming it was 'Time Force standard medical equipment.' Leo hadn't asked questions.

"Revenge…will destroy you." Leo replied.

Whether Magna Defender could not answer this, or simply could not answer at all, was unknown.

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"Why didn't you destroy him?"

Entropy glanced at the speaker in the shadows, noting his defiant pose. Even in his presence, this group wasn't cowed in the slightest. Then again, Entropy had no need of fear. Nor had any of those he'd summoned really shown any.

The entity was undecided if that was a strength or a weakness.

"You said you can only destroy them if they attack you! That moron did! Instead of disintegrating him, you sent out some chumps who got beat! One of them even got _his _rear end destroyed! So I ask, so-called essence of all destruction, WHY SO STUPID?"

"Because if I'd simply stepped up and destroyed him, then the rest of the aberrations would have likely withdrawn back into their base and adapted a mindset of primary defense, hence drawing this out further than I care to let it be," Entropy said. "The tools selected disabled the target while keeping the mindset of the aberrations more open to the concept of offense, and by default, less likely to immediately raise a prolonged defense. Perhaps more importantly, it also is more likely to keep them from noticing a constant in their history: they are not used to constant assault. Which is what will be implemented now."

"Whatever. I just want my shot at them. Sooner they're destroyed, sooner we can go free."

"Your 'shot' comes now. As said, they will likely not expect an immediate follow-up assault. Attack their base. Do what you claim to do so well."

"Now you're talking my language. Come on guys, let's show them some real horrors."

"Yeah," Came a reply. "We'll show them REAL revenge."

A moment later, the figures were gone.

"Revenge." Entropy mused, and then turned slightly. The shadows altered, casting the many more forms before him in a better light.

"Now then…shall we discuss the next implemented stage?"

"What will it matter, oh great nothing? I have seen these Rangers get destroyed, beaten, and shattered, and they always come back. They always win. I have fought them longer then any being here, so allow me to inform you immediately. You will not win."

"You speak of opinion and wounded ego. I do not have these aspects," Entropy said. "Victory is a word. Reality…is something else altogether."

Whether the shadowed speaker could not answer this, or simply chose not to answer at all, was unknown.

* * *

"_Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you.__"_

-Austin O'Malley


End file.
